Love Allows For Forgiveness
by CFCfan1
Summary: "Three months and I start making progress and one minute in a room with you and everything goes away,"


**Ok so I randomly thought of this while trying to update my story Mole. I wanted to write it down before I forgot it. I am having a little difficulty with Mole, so this was a nice distraction that will hopefully getting me rolling again. Tell me what you think!**

It had been three months since their run in at the rally for Will Caldwell, and his drinking was getting worse and worse with each passing day. Cyrus was starting to be an advisor for him again, as Mellie became more and more annoying. He never understood why his life was always so complicated. Even before Olivia came into the picture, between Mellie and his family he couldn't escape the complications. He had Jake in every week for an update, but he started to feel as if something was wrong with Jake. He seemed more distant than ever when ever he asked questions and Fitz felt like he was hiding something from him. He asked Tom to look into it, and when he brought back pictures of the two of them on dates and at the pentagon his drinking got even worse. He quickly had Jake transferred to a base in Europe and when Jake tried to call, he refused to talk to him. To say he was mad was an understatement and everyone had been scared away from him with his constant barking and anger fits. Now he had a few minutes before he had to go to a party fundraiser, and he wasn't looking forward to it.

"Sir," Cyrus said knocking on the door and walking into the Oval. Fitz sat in his chair, with his feet on the desk, and a glass of scotch in his hands.

"What's up Cy?" He asked not even looking at him.

"We leave for the fundraiser in five minutes sir. You need to stop drinking and have some mouthwash to try and get the smell off your breath," Cyrus said seriously.

"I'll be fine," Fitz, said a little annoyed. These were the moments Cyrus annoyed him, and he really wasn't in the mood for a scolding. He finally stood up and put his jacket on as he noticed Tom walk in behind Cyrus.

"We're ready to go sir," Tom said seriously. Fitz nodded at him and Cyrus sighed as they walked out to the motorcade. Fitz was grateful that Mellie wasn't coming to the event. He couldn't put up with both Mellie and Cyrus all in one night. The car ride there was mostly silent. Fitz had a few breath mints and just before they pulled up Cyrus spoke up.

"Sir…Olivia is going to be here," Cyrus said and Fitz gave him a quick look of anger.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me sooner?" he asked quickly.

"So you wouldn't overreact," Cyrus said seriously. "I'll keep distance between the two of you. You won't have to do more than shake her hand once if you see her," Cyrus finished as they pulled up.

They got out of the car and Fitz smiled and waved to the cameras. "Why is she going to be here?" He asked keeping the smile on his face as they walked in.

"Head of the RNC asked her, because of her help in the last election. You may be the standard bearer here, but the party still needs to raise money and look good, and having the people that got you elected at a fundraiser makes donors happy," Cyrus said walking next to him. Tom opened the doors for them and they walked in. Once inside Fitz could finally drop the smile at least for a few minutes. He shot one last look to Cyrus before they walked towards the banquet room where they were meeting with the head of the RNC.

"Bill, how are you?" Fitz said sticking out his hand and shaking the head of the RNC's hand.

"Mr. President, we are so glad that you could make it," Bill Jackson said with a smile on his face.

"Bill we have known each other for more than twenty years, please lets stick with Fitz," He said smiling at him.

"Of course. How is everything with Teddy?" Bill asked and Fitz got the first real smile on his face in a while. Teddy his youngest son was the bright spot in his dark world.

"He's great. Growing so quickly. Before I know it he is going to be running in and out of the Oval," Fitz said.

"Sir," Tom said getting both men's attention.

"Guests are arriving," Cyrus cut in and they nodded. They stood at the front of the room ready to greet everyone as they entered. It didn't take long for the room to fill up. When they finished the receiving line Fitz was surprised to not have seen Olivia, but was internally happy because of everything going on. They were all assigned seats for the dinner event. There was an empty seat at his table and he turned to Bill as the appetizers were served.

"Who is missing?" He asked with a questioning look.

"Oh that is…wait there she is!" Bill said standing up. As soon as he said she Fitz didn't have to turn around to know whom Bill was referring to. He looked to Cyrus who looked panicked as he stood.

"Olivia!" Bill said shaking her hand.

"Bill, its so great to see you. How are Janice and the kids?" She asked immediately.

"They're great. I'll let her know that you were here; I know she will be sad she missed you. The babysitter dropped out at the last second," He said and Olivia smiled at him. She turned and gave a now standing Cyrus a quick hug before turning to walk to her seat and seeing Fitz standing there with a straight face.

"Mr. President," She said, making her face stay neutral.

"Good to see you," He said shaking her hand.

"You too sir," She said before walking over to her seat and sitting down. Bill quickly struck up a conversation with her about OPA, and that dominated the table for a while. When she talked about her job Fitz couldn't help but notice how happy she looked. She looked happy than she had in a long time, and he had a feeling it wasn't just the job.

"Sir," Bill said getting Fitz out of his thoughts.

"Yea?" He asked putting on a smile.

"I think it is time for your speech," Bill said smiling at him. Fitz nodded and walked up to the stage. Everyone got quiet as he started talking about the last three years and all they had accomplished. He talked about the upcoming election and what he had planned if he were to be reelected for four more years. It was a great speech that had everyone on their feet by the time it was done. Fitz smiled and nodded as he walked off stage. He was in a back hallway talking to a major donor for a few minutes, and just as he was about to walk back to the table when she walked out of the bathroom. She stopped in her tracks when she saw him. She tried to figure out something to say but nothing came out. She looked at the ground and back up at him. When she looked at him again he noticed anger in her eyes.

"You had Jake transferred?" She asked accusingly.

"He was needed elsewhere," He said smoothly.

"Bull…you found out we were seeing each other and you had him transferred. I don't get it Fitz! One minute you are asking me to wait for you, the next you are calling me your mistress. I know that I messed up with the Defiance thing, but who was it that said, love allows for forgiveness. I guess that is only when you do something stupid. I am done playing this game. You were perfectly clear that you wanted nothing to do with me, so let me be!" She practically yelled at him.

"You think I want to keep tabs on you? You think I don't want to move on. I have tried every day to keep hating you, but it gets harder and harder. The longer I don't see you the easier it gets, but I never stopped loving you! I have worked so hard over the last three months to hate you and justify to myself why I should write you out of my life, but a few minutes with you at a stupid party banquet and I forget everything I have told myself. I said that love allows for forgiveness, and it does. I forgave you a long time ago, but I can't trust you. I don't know if I ever will be able to again. I keep tabs on you because if I don't, I will spiral out of control. I want to hate you Olivia, I want to let you be, but I just can't ok!" He yelled back. He took a deep breath. "Three months and I start making progress and one minute in a room with you and everything goes away," He whispered.

"You need to get back out there," She said looking away from him. Before he could say anything else she walked past him and back out to the dinner. He took a deep breath before walking back out and acting as Presidential as possible. The night felt like it would never end, but when it finally did he was grateful. Olivia practically ran out and he was one of the last ones out and Cyrus walked next to him as they exited the building.

"I didn't know she was going to be at our table," He said truthfully.

"I know," Fitz said shortly. Cyrus decided not to push the issue and stayed quiet as they made their way to the car. Cyrus suddenly stopped, and Fitz who had looked at a file that Cyrus had brought with them stopped and looked at him. He noticed that Cyrus looked nervous and he was focusing on something in front of them. Fitz looked up and almost stopped breathing. Olivia was standing at the motorcade with her arms crossed over her chest. Since they were at the back of the building they didn't have to worry about press.

"I'll give you a minute," Cyrus said stepping away as quickly as he could. Fitz handed the file to Tom who also took a few steps back to give them space.

"How dare you!" She said as he walked up to her with his hands in his pockets. She continued, not even letting him respond. "You come up to me like this was all my fault. Like I pushed you away. You yell at me then act like a wounded puppy. You say you forgave me but you still blame me. I apologized for what I did, and I know I can't take it back, but you know what, that doesn't give you any right to corner me! I have a life Fitz, one that doesn't revolve around you, and I know that is hard for you to understand, but you need to get it through your head. I came to this because Bill asked me to, not to see you. You said we were done so I acted like it! Make up your damn mind. A year ago you said you called me your mistress, three months ago you treat me like it and say that we are done, and tonight you imply that you miss me. What the hell is it Fitz!" She yelled at him. He looked at her and saw true anger and confusion in her eyes and he kept his hands in his pockets for a second. "Really? Now you have nothing to say?" She asked annoyed. He took his hands out of his pockets and looked at them briefly. "You know what, never mind," She said turning to walk towards her car.

Before she could take two steps his hand shot out and grabbed her arm pulling her to him and he kissed her. He kissed her like he had wanted to since the moment he called her his mistress. He knew it was a cheap shot and he had felt bad about it ever since, but he had been too angry about the Defiance thing. He pulled away after a second when she didn't respond. He looked at her and didn't see the hand that came flying towards his face as she slapped him. He recoiled for a second, but he didn't move away. She slapped him again with the same effect. The third time he caught her arm with his hand and looked at her silently. Before she even thought about saying a word her free hand grabbed his neck and pulled him towards her for a kiss in which they both responded. Cyrus looked to Tom who nodded as they turned around to give them as much privacy as possible. He held on to her like his life depended on it and she responded in the same way. While they had their little encounter in the closet three months ago, this was the first time in over a year that they actually showed the other how sorry they were for everything that had happened in the last year.

They finally pulled apart when the need for oxygen became too great. They looked at each other as they tried to catch their breaths. She took a deep breath and he tucked a stray hair behind her ear.

"I'm sorry," She whispered as tears filled up in her eyes. He tried to wipe them away with his thumb but they kept coming.

"Me too," He whispered back and she looked at him to make sure he was serious. She looked over his shoulder and saw Tom and Cyrus with their backs to them.

"We need to figure this out…" She said honestly and he nodded at her. "Somewhere that is a little more private," She continued and he still nodded. "Somewhere where we don't want to jump each other," He laughed at that one.

"No matter how mad I have been at you…I always want to jump you, no matter where we are," He said and she smiled at him. She touched her palm to his cheek. She wiped away what lipstick was transferred during the kiss. "Call me when you have time to talk," She said and he nodded to her. She kissed him briefly once more before turning to walk away again. She had gotten almost a yard a way from him when his voice stopped her.

"I need a campaign fixer," He said and she smiled without turning around.

"You know anyone good?" She asked finally turning around. He smiled at her as he stuck his hands in his pockets.

"I had this one in the last campaign. I screwed things up with her big time. Think she'll consider doing it again?" He asked giving her a look.

"Depends…" She said seriously.

"On what?" He asked.

"Depends on if you are ready to prove your father wrong…" She said and his smile faded. He knew she was talking about making amends for Defiance and proving that he could win without cheating, something his father never thought he could do.

"Wanted to do that since the moment I moved out of the house," He said seriously.

"Then I think she would say yes…" She said giving him a look that told him she would stand by him this time no matter what happened. "But you'd have to ask her," She said and the smile came back to his face.

"Well then…Tom!" He yelled without turning around. Tom jogged over to him as Olivia gave him a questioning look.

"Sir?" He asked looking between Fitz and Olivia.

"Can I borrow your phone please?" He asked still not looking at Tom.

"Of course sir," Tom said pulling out his cell phone and handing it to Fitz before taking a few steps back. Olivia realized what he was doing and smiled. Fitz dialed a number and a few seconds later her cell started to ring. She picked it up.

"Hello?" She asked with a wide smile.

"Hi, this is President Grant…you may have heard of me. I am running for reelection and I heard you are the best campaign fixer in the business. I was wondering if you would be willing to join the campaign?" He asked smiling.

"I don't know…sounds kind of like a hard job," She said and he laughed.

"Well if you aren't up to it…" He said and she laughed at him.

"Sounds like a good challenge," She said.

"I'm gonna assume that is a yes," He said and she smiled.

"That would be a good assumption," She said and he hung up the phone. Olivia took a few steps towards him as Cyrus walked up beside him after hearing the entire conversation. She smiled at them both. She looked between the two of them and stopped right in front of them.

"The band is back together," She said and in that moment everything was put aside. They still needed to talk, and they would, but right then there was only one thing they were worried about…proving that Fitz deserved to be there, and they would do it fairly this time, not only proving something to Fitz, but also proving Fitzgerald Thomas Grant II wrong. It wasn't going to be easy, but then again if it was, it wouldn't be as much fun. They were in for a fight, and they were all ready no matter what the future had to hold.

**Ok so there it is. Please tell me what you think!**


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